The West Coast Sorcerer Hat

Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World are both "blessed" by giant sorcerer hats, each paying a tribute to the most famous sequence from Walt Disney's Fantasia.

The stylized West Coast version isn't nearly as controversial as its larger Florida cousin, mainly because it doesn't block the view of a beloved landmark. In Anaheim, the hat merely serves as a whimsical entry marker for the Disneyland Hotel. It essentially lets guests know they're leaving Downtown Disney and entering the hotel grounds.

It's a cute piece of pop art, and it sparkles effectively at night. It doesn't, however, quite fit the 60's retro theming of the DL Hotel's recent remodeling. If and when it's replaced with a different sort of entry symbol, I doubt many guests will miss it much, as it's always felt like a temporary place holder. Then again, who'd have guessed the Florida hat would have stuck around as long as it has!

Lighting the Path for Alice

Fantastic flower lampposts tower above the queue for the Alice in Wonderland dark ride. Originally, the entire exterior was given over to the giant leaves and flowers inspired by the film. The real trees and hedges were worked into the scene as part of the 1984 remodeling.

Ordinarily, the clash of scale between the living trees and the giant make-believe flowers could be jarring, but it works well here. The ride's exterior becomes a transition between the outside park and the loud, colorful scenes waiting inside the show building. Wonderland is a dream world, so it makes sense for the exterior to represent a state of mind halfway between awake and asleep...or am I reading too much into it?

After all, the Alice ride's design--like so much of Disneyland-- is the result of Imagineers making the best possible use of limited and awkward spaces. It's a two-story indoor-outdoor adventure because part of it has to squeeze above Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. When talented people are tasked with that kind of design puzzle, we wind up with wonderful landscapes that might never have been dreamed up otherwise.

Hooray for awkward spaces!

Teacup Chairs at the Disneyland Hotel

While visiting the Disneyland Hotel's Fantasy Tower, you're sure to notice the unusual seating accommodations in the lobby. They're weird and they're big--they're the semi-famous teacup chairs!

I have mixed feelings about these guys. I'm glad they exist, because the world can't have too much whimsy, and I really like the little table representing the control wheel...but...

They do creep me out just a little bit. I don't know why. Is it because they look like they've had all the color sucked out of them? I wish the carpet picked up the theme with--I dunno--circle patterns suggesting saucers or something...

On the other hand, I'm glad there are things at the resort that I can't neatly sort into "like" or "dislike" (two others: Astro Orbitor and Duffy). All I know is, if these chairs slowly rotated in place...well, then we'd have the most awesome hotel furniture on the planet.

The Weirdest Thing In DCA

At Disney California Adventure, guests encounter many offbeat sights, from a Cadillac Mountain Range to the factory restroom of Monsters, Inc. Inside a Paradise Pier shop called Sideshow Shirts, however, they'll come face to face with the park's strangest inhabitant...

It's this guy. If you've never shopped for souvenirs under the gaze of a gigantic, stooped-over sideshow barker holding up the ceiling...well, here's your chance!

It really is an amazing statue, full of personality. It reminds me of the old Fun House at San Francisco's Playland at the Beach (long gone), which featured a large central room under the watch of giant clown faces hanging from the ceiling.

Paradise Pier once hosted a giant hamburger, a giant orange, a giant test-of-strength game and giant sunglasses on a dinosaur. Our friend the giant Sideshow Barker has managed to--so far--escape the wrecking ball fate of his oversized buddies. In that light, the poor guy almost looks like he's hiding, hoping he's not the next to go. I'll keep my fingers crossed for him; He may be strange, but he certainly is unique, fun and startling in a classic boardwalk kind of way.

A Bug's Lamp

If you're an adult passing through the giant clover forest of DCA's A Bug's Land, you're probably taking the shortcut between Tower of Terror and Radiator Springs. At some point, however, be sure to slow down and enjoy the wonderful details of the insect world.

This firefly lamp gives you a cheerful send-off as you head out toward Cars Land. As the first step in "fixing" DCA back in 2002, A Bugs Land marked an important shift toward bringing some much-needed whimsy into the new park.

DCA's Extinct Dino

The doomed Apatosaurus of Dinosaur Jack's Sunglass Shack peers down at us in a shot from 2008. The ominous sky and the background construction crane are a coincidence; Dinosaur Jack would survive one more year of operation before getting demolished.

A sunglass shop shaped like a prehistoric beast, Dinosaur Jack's was designed as a tribute to some of the wacky roadside architecture of California's past. Long before the much better Route 66 appeared in Cars Land, Paradise Pier had it's own micro Route 66 area -- a version few noticed or admired.

Dino Jack's area companions -- Corn Dog Castle and the Mulholland Madness wild mouse coaster -- were spared the wrecking ball. People still line up for the incredibly delicious corn dogs and the coaster's Goofy re-theme...but no one seems to miss old Dinosaur Jack's goofball sunglass hut.

I'm wondering if that giant pair of shades still exists somewhere...

They See You

The folks in charge of designing the World of Disney store at Disneyland Resort could have picked anything to go over the shop's park-side entrance -- and they went with this. I love it.

It would be so cool if this turned out to be an actual working security camera.

If you're over forty and reading this, I'll bet you're thinking of Adventure Through Inner Space right now. Yeah, I miss it, too.

A Bug's Land at Night

There's one area of Disney California Adventure I visit least: Flik's Fun Fair in A Bug's Land. Originally created to solve the early DCA's lack of attractions suitable for small children, it contains a handful of nicely-themed kiddy rides.

Most DCA visitors use Flik's Fun Fair for one purpose: it's a shortcut between Tower of Terror and Cars Land. Speaking of Cars Land, I often wonder if Flik's Fun Fair should be leveled to make room for more Cars adventures...perhaps a Finn McMissile coaster?

But then...I walk through the insect world at night...

Have you tried this? Stroll slowly through Fliks' Fun Fair after dark, when the place is more quiet. Listen to the sound of chirping crickets and stare up at the beautifully lit giant clovers and  grass blades towering overhead. It's amazing, beautiful and relaxing.

Then I think of Disneyland's Storybook Land, another beautiful area many adults ignore -- and one I love dearly. I'd hate to see its two wonderful rides (Casey Jr. and the Canal Boats) replaced.

A Bug's Land does contain some true Disney magic. Just remember, as you're hurrying between Radiator Springs and Hollywood Land, to stop for a moment as you enter the clover forest. Look up and enjoy.

The Mad Tea Leaves

The Mad Tea Party and the Alice in Wonderland leaves -- can you get any more "Disney" than this?

In the park's early years, the teacups sat by the carousel, far from the whimsical fantasy foliage of the Alice in Wonderland dark ride. As part of the 1980's Fantasyland renovation, the Mad Tea Party found a new home directly in front of Alice.

The two rides, combined with the White Rabbit's house (home to the Mad Hatter shop) and the March Hare's house (part of the Tea Party) formed a terrific Alice mini-land within Fantasyland. The gigantic, swirling leaves of the dark ride's exterior now extended over to the teacups, tying everything together.

Sarge's Night Vision Goggles

Cars Land bursts at the seams with details; everywhere you look, you'll find exactly the sorts of mementos, tools and stored belongings the town's citizens would keep on hand.

The next time you visit Sarge's Surplus Hut to shop for souvenirs and collectibles, look upward and you'll find the retired officer's old night vision goggles sitting on a shelf. Of course, they're exactly the right size to fit a Jeep's windshield.

A closer look at that box...